Terra Mew Mew Power: vol 1
by Dragon Rune
Summary: It's been a year since the events of TMM. The aliens are back, but everything seems ordinary. That is, until the cafe burns down, Zakuro is attacked by a complete stranger, and a girl mysteriously appears out of nowhere with a memory defect. KishxOC R
1. The Cafe Burns Down

**This volume is officially complete! Volume 2 coming as soon as I can be bothered to get off my butt and write it!**

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**Prologue**

Fear.

It was always the same emotions in the eyes of the people they'd chosen – loss, confusion, pain. This girl's eyes were the same; the tears making them shine like blue glass. But soon there'd be no more reason to cry.

She struggled in vain against the chains that bound her to the metal table. In the dark of the room, she hadn't yet spotted him, gazing at her, studying her as if she was a work of art he was considering where to place. Yes, she was the one. There was no more doubt.

She saw him now, and tried harder than ever to break free. Poor girl, she had no idea what was going on.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly. "You're not losing anything of value – only your free will."

He reached over and pressed a button on the gun-like thing aiming at her. The girl's scream cut through the dark halls.

**Chapter One – The Café is destroyed (nearly) and Kish is over Ichigo (almost)**

Kish stood before the blackened remnants of the Café Mew Mew. It was about nine in the morning, and though the incident had occurred several days previously, the air still had had a slight smoky scent to it. He didn't really remember much about the café, aside from the fact it had been excessively pink.

Beside him, Ichigo Momomiya stood in shock.

"How did this happen?" she asked, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"We don't know," Ryou replied. "But I suppose Keiichiro and I are lucky we weren't there at the time."

Half of the café had been burnt to cinders. Nobody knew how or why. Fortunately, part of the half of the building that wasn't destroyed included the Mews' secret base. It wouldn't be much use now though.

As they all stood – Mews, aliens, and others – Kish asked himself for the hundredth time since returning to Earth why he was there. Taruto and Pai had perfectly good reasons for returning. Whether for candy, friendship, or possibly even – love? – Tart had returned to see Pudding. And then there was Pai, who obviously had a thing for Lettuce.

So what was he doing there? What was his reason for coming back? The answer was this: after everything that had happened, he'd actually still thought there was a chance that maybe… Ichigo and Masaya hadn't quite worked out…

Of course, he was wrong. Ichigo and Masaya were still as close and madly in love as when he had left.

"Why is it that every time I see you two lovesick birds, _I'm_ the one who feels nauseous?" he'd asked her only the day before. He was only teasing her, but of course Ichigo, being Ichigo, had to take it the wrong way.

"Are you helping or not?" Ryou asked Ichigo, as he brought a chair from somewhere within the remaining building. "We still need to clear the place out."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Ichigo said in an annoyed tone as she rushed over to the blond sixteen-year-old.

"Be careful," Kish said.

"Huh?" Ichigo said, stopping and turning in surprise.

"Well, think about it. You're the supergirl who saved the planet from a race of freaky aliens. Don't you think it would be just the slightest bit lame if you died by falling through the floor of a –"

"Oh, shut up!" said Ichigo, running off.

As he watched her leave, Kish smirked.

A little way off, Lettuce was dragging a table across the ground. It was kind of awkward, and at one point she slipped on the path and scraped the palm of her hand.

_Why do I have to be so clumsy?_ Lettuce thought, fighting back the tears that were entering her eyes.

"Would you like some help?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

Lettuce turned to see Pai, the tall, purple-haired alien, and quickly got to her feet.

"Oh…" said Lettuce, her face turning red. "Yes… Thank you, Pai-san."

Pai went to grab the other side of the table, but then looked into Lettuce's blushing face and found he was unable to turn away. It was the first time since he'd returned to Earth that they'd been together on their own.

_I didn't think it was possible, _Pai thought, as he looked into her sea-blue eyes, _but she looks even more beautiful than ordinary when she's blushing_.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, saying nothing. But then suddenly Pai jerked his head to the side. A look of surprise, with a trace of disappointment, crossed Lettuce's face.

"We're suppose to be moving the table," Pai reminded her.

"Oh…" said Lettuce. "Right…"

_I guess I should be doing something to help…_ Kish thought as he watched Ichigo carrying a box of miscellaneous things she had salvaged from the rubble and ash. Then he saw Masaya take the box from her and immediately put the idea out of his head. There was no way he was working with Masaya. They might not be enemies anymore, but that didn't mean they got along any better.

A twig cracked behind him and Kish spun around. A figure stood between the trees, barely visible in the shadows. But Kish's suspicion quickly turned to shock as the figure stumbled forward, into view.

A girl of about thirteen years stood before him, her shoulder-length brown hair a mess, hunched over as if standing was a task she was struggling to find the strength for. Her eyes were half open and filled with tears that fell down her pale cheeks. Breathing heavily, she opened her mouth as if to speak, but then collapsed on the ground.

A moment later, Ichigo and Masaya rushed forward.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, her voice full of concern for the mysterious new girl.

Kish didn't know what to say.


	2. Doctor Fong to the Rescue!

**Chapter Two – Doctor Fong to the Rescue**

"That's all of them now," Pai said, looking at the group of tables he and Lettuce had moved out.

"Yes," said Lettuce, looking into Pai's dark eyes. "Thank you so much, Pai-san."

Pai turned to her and could tell from the tone of her voice and expression on her face that she truly meant every word she spoke. Feeling slightly awkward, he looked away.

Lettuce, however, continued starring into the alien-boy's face. _He must be about eighteen or nineteen, and I'm just fourteen, _she thought. _I suppose it doesn't really matter though… I need to tell him now. I might never get another chance._

"Um… Pai…" Lettuce said slowly, bidding her face to remain the same shade. But when Pai looked at her, she found it much more difficult. Still, ignoring her quickly reddening face, she opened her mouth to say the words she'd longed to tell him for over a year…

"Lettuce! Come quick!" Ichigo called from a little way off.

Lettuce, followed by Pai, followed Ichigo's voice to find her, Masaya, Kish, Ryou and Keiichiro all gathered around the unconscious girl lying on the ground.

"We need a first aid specialist," Ichigo decided, after explaining to Lettuce and Pai what had happened.

"You think this is a situation that requires first aid?" Kish asked.

"Well… no," Ichigo said, bringing out her mobile phone, "but she still might be able to help…"

"Please don't tell me you're talking about Pudding."

"Well, you'd be surprised. She can really be mature sometimes…"

--

"Pudding is so glad Taru-Taru agreed to help Pudding with her chores, na no da!" Pudding announced brightly as she and Taruto entered her kitchen.

"Hey, I didn't agree to that!" Taruto exclaimed. "You talked me into it!"

"Taru-Taru wants to spend time with Pudding, and Pudding needs to do chores! Taru-Taru knows that Pudding's mother's dead and her father's never home."

"Wasn't that sensei-person supposed to be looking after you?" Taruto asked, recalling the woman Pudding had been so protective of and that he had turned into some sort of Kimera-chicken.

"Yes, but she still needs help, na no da!" explained Pudding as she began wiping the kitchen table. "Would Taru-Taru please go make Honcha's bed?"

Sighing, Taruto went upstairs to Pudding's brother's bedroom and, following Pudding's previously given instructions, made the bed in the far corner.

Just as he was finishing, a voice from the doorway said, "Hello, Taru-Taru. Come to help your girlfriend again?"

Taruto turned to see one of Pudding's brothers standing their looking at him.

"Don't call me Taru-Taru!" Taruto said in irritation. "Only Pudding may call me that!" And, because the boy was in the way, Taruto teleported back into the kitchen as Pudding's brother started calling down the stairs, "Taru-Taru loves Pudding!"

Just as Taruto was about to complain, the phone rang and Pudding picked it up. "Fong residence, na no da!"

Pudding listened carefully to the voice at the other end before saying, "Of course, Ichigo-oneechan, Dr. Pudding will be right there, na no da!" Then she hung up and said, "Come on Taru-Taru, we're going to Ichigo-oneechan's house!"

"Why? Is something wrong with the old hag?" (A/N: Yes, Taruto still refers to Ichigo as a hag.)

"No, a girl walk out of the trees and passed out, na no da! Ichigo-oneechan is taking her to her house and needs Pudding's help!"

"And you can help her how?" Taruto asked.

"With my many talents, na no da!"

"Pudding, I don't think any of your abilities include healing dead people."

"Not dead, Taru-Taru, unconscious."

"What's the difference?"

Pudding giggled. "You are so silly, Taru-Taru, na no da!"

--

On the other side of Tokyo, a thirteen-year-old girl with black hair in odango-buns, deep brown eyes and an air of arrogance was sitting in the back of an expensive-looking car when her phone went off.

"Why weren't you helping out at the café?" Ichigo demanded.

"Hey, I had an important ballet performance to attend," Minto Aizawa replied. "Besides, I doubt I missed anything."

"Nothing much… just a few old tables, scorched spoons and bent forks…"

"That's what I thought."

"… Oh yeah, and an unconscious girl lying on the ground!"

Minto's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sorry, got to go now. 'Bye!"

Ichigo hung up and turned to Kish.

"So, how's Minto?" he asked. The two of them, along with the girl, were in Ichigo's bedroom. The girl was lying in the bed, her features seeming darker against the snow-white sheets.

Ichigo rolled her brown eyes. "Still as snobby as ever. Now, I want you to stay here –"

"Why do I have to watch her?"

Before Ichigo had a chance to reply, the door opened and Pudding and Taruto walked in.

"Taru-Taru teleported me in, na no da!" Pudding explained at the sight of Ichigo's surprised face. "Hello, Kishu-oniisan!"

"Pudding-imoutosan," Kish replied.

As Pudding inspected the girl, Kish turned to Taruto. "Did you have fun with your girlfriend?"

"Oh god, not you too!" Taruto said, glaring at Kish. "Listen, I don't love her!"

"Sure you don't."

"Look, just because nobody likes you –"

Kish's expression suddenly changed, and he looked down. There was an awkward silence between them, broken only by Taruto saying through gritted teeth, "Sorry."

"Whatever," Kish replied, still not looking up.

"Pudding is not sure what happened to her," the nine-year-old blond-haired girl announced, "but she may wake up in a couple of hours so she can tell us, na no da!"

"What if she's poisoned?" Taruto asked.

"She isn't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do, na no da!"

"Wow," said Kish, "that's talent."

--

Scarcely an hour later, Kish sat alone in Ichigo's bedroom. Alone, that is, except for the unconscious girl. He watched her carefully, wondering if she would wake up before Ichigo returned, and if he'd have to explain to her that he was an alien, hoping she didn't panic.

Just as he thought this, the girl moved.


	3. Who, what, when, where, why?

**Chapter Three – Who, what, when, where, why?**

When Licorice woke up, he was the first thing she saw – the boy standing over her, with his bright golden eyes, forest green hair and teasing expression. The boy who would, in time to come, become the most important person in her life. Now, however, as she set eyes on him, the first thing she noticed was that he was obviously not human.

"Who are you?" she asked in a small voice that broke several times. Then, a little louder and clearer, "What are you? Where am I?"

"My name's Kishu. I'm an alien," he said, answering her first two questions.

"Uh… okay… an alien…" Licorice said, much calmer than she felt. "So… what do you aliens call yourselves?"

A trace of surprise crossed the alien's face – evidently he hadn't expected this next question. "Cyniclons, mostly."

"So… Kishu… where am I?"

"Ichigo Momomiya's house."

"And she is…?"

"A human girl who hates me for some reason. I think it may have something to do with the fact I tried to kill her boyfriend."

"Hmm, yeah, maybe…" she said with sarcastic uncertainty.

"So what about you?" the alien-boy named Kishu asked. "What's your name, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?'" she demanded in a tone a little harsher than intended.

"Well, you didn't just randomly decide to walk up to me and faint, did you?"

"So that's what happened…" Licorice muttered.

"What? You mean you don't remember?"

It was. Now that Licorice thought about it, she couldn't remember anything about herself, anything that had happened to her previously, aside from a blurry vision of walking through unclear landscape for what seemed like hours, and finally collapsing on the ground…

"No…" she said, more to herself than Kishu. "Absolutely nothing at all…"

Despite the simplicity of her words, Kish felt slightly creeped out.

"Do you remember your name?" Kish asked her.

"I'm Licorice," she replied.

Just then, Ichigo rushed into the room, "You're awake!" she said, nearly running up to the brown-haired girl's side. "Are you okay? Who are you? What happened?"

"Relax, Ichigo," said Kish. "Her name's Licorice, and she seems to have no memory of herself before now, but apart from that, she's fine."

Ichigo gave him a look of surprise. "I see you two have already become acquainted. I hope he wasn't too mean to you."

"Mean? He wasn't mean…" Licorice trailed off.

"See? Not everyone has to hate me!"

"I'll give her a week," Ichigo said, eyes shining. "Anyway, I'm Ichigo. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi," Licorice replied, returning a small smile.

"Ryou told me to call him as soon as you woke up," Ichigo explained, taking out her phone and dialling the blond-guy's phone number.

"Ryou? Yeah, she's awake… I know… Where? … Why? … I'm not, it's just… okay, fine."

Ichigo looked confused. "We're having a group meeting."

"Okay, where?" Kish asked.

The redhead frowned to herself. "In the basement of the old café."


	4. A Democracy of Mews and Aliens

**Chapter Four – A democracy of Mews and Aliens**

"What do you mean 'All the top-secret information about us is missing'?" Ichigo demanded.

"I mean, all the top secret information about Tokyo Mew Mew – by which I mean your real names, where you live, the schools you go to, practically everything – is missing," Ryou repeated in a tone so casual it made Ichigo want to punch him.

"How'd you lose it, na no da?" asked Pudding, who obviously hadn't quite understood the situation yet.

"I didn't lose them," Ryou stated. "They were stolen."

"Stolen?" Lettuce exclaimed.

"How can you be sure?" inquired Minto.

"The lock on the safe where they were kept is completely burnt off, and the scorches are far too solitary to have been caused by the flames from the burning café," explained Keiichiro.

_Well, even I could tell that!_ thought Ichigo, still annoyed. The entire basement had been untouched by the fire.

"Wait, what's going on?" Everyone turned to Licorice. Most of them had forgotten she was even there. She looked much better now – her hair was brushed, and she'd borrowed some of Ichigo's clothes. "Something about Tokyo Mew Mew… what is that?"

Being typical, Ryou completely ignored her, and continued talking before anyone else had a chance to explain.

"What's more, it looks like the stealing of the files happened about the same time as the café burning down," he paused for a moment. "The fire may have been used as a distraction."

"Why would anyone risk their life just to get a few documents?" Licorice muttered to herself. This guy, Ryou Shirogane or something, had some serious flaws in his theory. No one else seemed to notice them, though, so she decided not to point them out.

"We also have reason to believe that this is connected to Licorice's sudden appearance."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, she was centre of attention.

"But how… where's your evidence?" Licorice asked. Then when she looked at everyone staring at her, she said, "Oh, right – if two odd things happen in the same basic period of time, they must be related, is that it?"

"Well… yes, pretty much," Ryou replied.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Shirogane, but your theory has gaps between every second link," Kish said, and Licorice felt a wave of relief wash over her – she wasn't the only one who saw it after all.

"Regardless, I think it's obvious that we have a new enemy."

"Not necessarily," said Pai, whom Licorice had been briefly introduced to along with everyone else. Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed full of tension, as if the purple-haired Cyniclon's words had reignited some long-going feud between him and the blond guy.

Lettuce shifted uncomfortably.

"I think we should vote," Keiichiro suggested, breaking the tension somewhat.

"This is a superhero team, not a democracy," Ryou argued, but Keiichiro, annoyed at Ryou's recently over-edgy nature, continued.

"Those who think we should take immediate action, raise your hand."

Ichigo, Minto, Pudding and Taruto raised their hands.

"Those who think it's still too early to jump to conclusions, raise your hand."

Licorice, Kishu, Lettuce and Pai raised their hands.

Licorice smiled at Lettuce, who gave a shy smile in return.

Ryou looked at Keiichiro. "Well?"

"Let's see what Masaya and Zakuro-san have to say about it."


	5. Bitch Fight

**Chapter Five – Bitch Fight**

Zakuro felt exhausted. She was nearly fighting to keep her eyes open, and her legs felt like they were being weighed down by bricks. That's what happened to you staying up twenty-four hours straight on a flight from the USA to Japan. Even travelling in first class hadn't changed the fact that sleeping on planes was nearly impossible.

She ignored the many eyes of people watching her, and continued dragging along her suitcase through the stuffy halls of Tokyo Airport.

Masaya had to be there somewhere. Ryou had contacted her earlier, telling her that Masaya would be arriving with a taxi to take her immediately to the café.

She caught sight of him, and hurried over, glad to finally be rid of the people surrounding her, whispering and pointing.

"You're here!" Masaya said with a smile. "I was beginning to worry."

"I'm fine," Zakuro stated, her cold tone failing to dampen his spirit. "But would you mind explaining what's going on? Ryou was a little vague on the details."

"Well, to begin with, the café burned down – "

Zakuro stopped walking and stared. "What?"

Masaya, on the other hand, continued walking. "I'll explain in the taxi. The guy's been waiting long enough as it is."

Hiding her disappointment, Zakuro stepped outside and blinked in surprise. The early afternoon sun shining overhead was not what her mental clock was telling her she should be seeing. This would take some getting used to.

Masaya, as he promised, explained everything Zakuro had missed out on as they rushed through the streets of Tokyo city. The taxi driver, though he said nothing, seemed very pleased at having a celebrity in his vehicle.

They were barely even halfway there by the time Masaya was done explaining about the café, the girl, and Ryou's suspicions. When he stopped talking, there was a moment of silence as Zakuro ordered things in her head.

"This is a tricky situation," she concluded. "While it's true that immediate action is desirable, even if we decided on it, what would we do? How would we know where to look for this new enemy?"

Masaya nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, that's true."

Suddenly, something in Zakuro's mind clicked. She glanced outside the moving taxi as her mew instincts took control.

"What is it?" Masaya asked her, reading clearly from the expression on her face that something was wrong.

"Tell the driver to stop," Zakuro instructed. Without question, Masaya did as he was told. The two of them got out of the taxi as Zakuro subconsciously let her mind search for the disturbance. Masaya close behind her, she walked down the sidewalk. There was a dark alley there, somewhere the sun failed to illuminate. And Zakuro's mew instinct was telling her this was it. Pausing briefly, Zakuro stepped into the shadows.

Something flew past her, barely missing hitting her head. She spun around to see a figure emerge from hiding, holding a spiked metal disc in its hand.

Before Zakuro could register anything else, the stranger attacked again. Zakuro grabbed Masaya and the two of them jumped out of the way just in time. Now was her chance to fight back. Holding up her pendant, Zakuro cried, "Mew Mew Zakuro, Metamorphosis!"

Zakuro lashed out with her whip, but utterly jet lagged, her movements were clumsy. She missed her target by about half a meter, and the sudden action made her gaze blur slightly.

She wasn't in the right state to be fighting – something both Masaya and the enemy could plainly see. But all Masaya could do was watch as Zakuro struggled to keep eye contact with the metal disc in the stranger's hand. Even if he had been protecting Ichigo, he could no longer turn into the Blue Knight.

Zakuro was stuck. There was no way to escape, and if she continued to fight alone, she'd most likely be killed. There was only one thing left to do. Without turning, she said to Masaya, "Get back to the café, and get back up. I need the others here as fast as possible."

Nodding, Masaya reluctantly ran around the corner and disappeared from sight. Now it was just her and the attacker.

"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!" Zakuro cried, lashing out once more. By some miraculous stroke of luck, she made contact, knocking the disc from the attacker's hand.

In the brief moment of calm, Zakuro could study her attacker. She couldn't have been much older than herself, Zakuro decided. Her – yes, it was definitely a her – dead-straight, shoulder-length, fiery-red hair bordered a cold, pale face, in which were set equally fiery-red eyes. But what surprised Zakuro the most about her were her ears. They weren't human. They weren't even Cyniclon.

They were fox ears.

Her enemy was a Mew Mew.

And then the pause abruptly ended when the attacker retrieved her weapon.

"Ribbon Spice Blaze!" she cried, tossing the disc in Zakuro's direction, who jumped up, landing on the building previously opposite her. Here, at least, there was more space for combat.

Then Zakuro saw something out of the corner of her eye, and looked down at her left arm.

Blood.

She stared in shock at the deep gash on her arm. How had she not noticed it? Even now that a considerable amount of time had passed, she felt no pain, but the loss of blood was already weakening her.

At the sound of a step, Zakuro spun around. Mew Spice – a name Zakuro had now come to dub her attacker – stood there, blank eyes staring eerily at Zakuro. She had moved so fast – like a flame. Zakuro could never outrun her, even unwounded. And it was becoming far too obvious that Zakuro could no longer fight her either.

And then a grin, the first sign of emotion to be seen in the fox-girl, flickered briefly across her face as she moved in for the kill.


	6. Spicing It Up

**Chapter Six – Spicing It Up**

"Well… that was slightly confusing," Licorice concluded.

Ichigo and Kishu had just finished explaining the history of Tokyo Mew Mew up to that point in the shortest way possible, which had left Licorice with more questions than answers.

"So… you go around attacking monsters with sparkly weapons?" she said to Ichigo.

"Er… well, I suppose you could say it like that."

"And, you no longer want to kill us, right?" she said, this time to Kish.

"The desire has greatly lessened," he replied.

"So, why did you come back?" Licorice asked with interest.

Pai and Taruto, who'd only been half-listening up to this point, turned to look at them. Kish noticed this, and didn't even try to hide the grin spreading across his face.

"Well, Tart wanted more candy from his girlfriend, Pudding – "

"Hey, enough with that! We're only friends!" Taruto insisted.

"You sure about that?"

"YES!"

"Okay then, Taruto wanted candy from his non-girlfriend" – Taruto (who was sick of Kish poking fun at his inadmissible crush on Pudding) now looked like he wanted to murder him – "and Pai was dying to see Lettuce again."

"What makes you think that?" Pai asked bluntly, but behind his cold eyes Licorice swore she saw a trace of embarrassment.

"What's this about Lettuce and Pai?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

Kish opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Pai saying in a dangerous voice, "Nothing."

Kish reluctantly accepted that it was time to shut up, and so he did. Licorice glanced at Ichigo, who just shrugged.

Pai, however, looked across the room to where Lettuce was standing. Thank God she'd missed Kish's remark on him "dying to see her again." But the person he saw her with made him even more agitated then he would have been if she had. Because standing next to Lettuce, talking to her, was Ryou Shirogane. Pai couldn't make out what they were saying but whatever it was it made Lettuce smile. It was such a beautiful thing, seeing Lettuce smile. Some day Pai wanted to learn how to make her smile like that.

"How did they feel about that?"

Even though the question was intended for Kish, Licorice's voice pulled Pai back to reality.

"How did who feel about what?" asked Kish, who hadn't quite followed.

"The… people back on your planet. How'd they feel about your reason for returning?"

"Oh…" Kish paused. "Well, that wasn't our 'official' reason for returning…"

"So what was your 'official' reason?" Licorice asked.

"It's one step closer to making peace between Cyniclons and humans," he explained. "Though, I suppose in the long term sense, the two are pretty much the same."

"They still don't like us?" guessed Licorice.

"Not in the least. But we've convinced them to give you a chance."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Licorice said with a laugh. "After all that talk of humans being selfish and destructive, you're suddenly the ones who want to befriend us."

Kish, Pai and Taruto glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Er… we take that back," Taruto said.

"Don't," Licorice said. "It's true."

"Lettuce isn't selfish and destructive." The words were out of Pai's mouth before he even knew what was happening.

"Oh, so is that why you love her?" Kish asked, grinning.

This time, there was no doubt about it. Pai looked embarrassed. Ichigo and Licorice laughed.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone running in the remains of the upstairs café. They all turned to see Masaya rush into the room.

"Masaya?" Ichigo said in surprise at his clearly hurried state. "What happened?"

"No time to explain," Masaya said quickly. "Zakuro's under attack and she needs help. Hurry!"

For a moment, Ichigo looked like she was about to object, but then she nodded, and took her Mew Pendant out from her pocket.

"Mew Mew Strawberry!"

"Mew Mew Minto!"

"Mew Mew Lettuce!"

"Mew Mew Pudding!"

"METAMORPHOSIS!"

--

Zakuro was on the run.

She had retreated from the attacker in the only direction she could without being ripped to pieces by the "Spice Disc" – down. Zakuro jumped back to the ground, and hurried out into the sunlight. People were now starring at her again, not only because of the gash, but also because she was still in mew form. Still, it was better for them to be saying, "Look! Mew Zakuro's over there! And she's hurt!" then to have that title replaced by "Zakuro Fujiwara."

If Zakuro had thought that simply being surrounded by people would shake Mew Spice off her trail, she was in for disappointment. In moments, Mew Spice stood across the street from her, weapon in hand. Everywhere, people were noticing the two of them, watching them and backing away cautiously.

"Ribbon Spice Blaze!"

"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!"

Their attacks collided with a sudden burst of energy that hadn't seemed to come directly from either of them. The two mews were both thrown back by the force. But whereas Spice, who never seemed to tire of this, was back on her feet almost immediately, Zakuro's body no longer seemed to share a clear connection with her mind. It took all her desperate willpower to stand up shakily, and lash her whip once more before racing through the panicked crowd.

Which is where we find her now.

No matter how fast she tried to run, or where she tried to hide, Mew Spice was never more than five meters behind her. The Spice Disc sliced through the air around her, spinning dangerously closer to her head every time.

And then the worst thing possible happened – Zakuro stumbled on uneven pavement and fell.

The palms of her hands scratched and burning, Zakuro got onto her knees, and turned to face Mew Spice as she prepared to throw the Spice Disc one last time –

"Ribbon Minto Echo!"

Mew Minto's attack knocked the disc out of Spice's grip. The blue mew landed gracefully, followed by Mew Strawberry, Mew Lettuce, Mew Pudding, and Masha who was flying nearby Ichigo's head.

"Oneesama!" Minto cried, running to the bleeding wolf-girl's side.

Mew Strawberry turned, Strawberry Bell in hand, ready to fight the enemy.

Mew Spice snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, a circle of fire erupted from the ground around where the mews were standing (or kneeling). The Mew Mews stared in horror as Spice simply stepped forward, her body engulfed in fire, and then through to the other side. She stood before them, completely unharmed, a kind of demonic glow to her eyes.

"Ribbon Minto Echo!" Minto cried again, aiming the arrow at Mew Spice's chest. But the fox-girl flickered out of the way, responding with her own attack that only barely missed its target when Minto moved to the left.

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!" Mew Lettuce called out. But instead of aiming it at Spice, her attack hit the fire, sending at least half of it up in smoke.

Something that almost looked like surprise crossed Mew Spice's face, but before she could do anything, the Mew Mews were out of the circle.

"Lettuce Rush!" Mew Lettuce's attack hit Mew Spice straight in the chest, and she was knocked off her feet. The look she gave Lettuce hid nothing – it was of pure hate.

"Ribbon Strawberry – " Mew Strawberry began, but then stopped. The place where Spice had been just a moment before was empty.


	7. Anyone wannabe a Mew Mew?

**Hello! Sorry it's been so long since i updated, I meant to do this ages ago, but I had so much homework... I've actually written up to chapter 11.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! 3 ^^**

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**Chapter Seven – Anyone wannabe a Mew Mew?**

Back in the basement of the café, everything was relatively silent. Zakuro's cut had been washed and bandaged. "Perhaps the only good thing about the numbing power of Mew Spice's attack is that I can't feel the pain from the antiseptic," Zakuro said to Keiichiro with a sad smile. Now that she was no longer running for her life, Zakuro was already feeling better.

Licorice didn't hear Keiichiro's response, but it sounded as though he was apologizing for something. After this, he returned to his conversation with Ryou. Their urgent, hushed voices became the only sound in the otherwise quiet atmosphere. Licorice didn't like the silence, but knew it would be wrong to break it. So instead, to distract herself, she began pondering over the fox-girl – "Mew Spice" – she had seen the Mew Mews battle with from the camera somewhere in Masha on Keiichiro's computer. For a scary moment, Licorice had thought there was something she recognised about her – but then it was gone.

In the end, it was Mew Spice's sudden disappearance that scared her most. Where had she gone? And why so suddenly, when she'd had such a good chance of severely injuring – perhaps even killing – the Mew Mews?

Then Ryou stepped forward, and everyone turned to him. Licorice felt slightly surprised – the expression on his face was worry, something she hadn't – even though she'd known him for such a short time – expected to see.

"I think we owe you an apology," Ryou said, sounding like he actually meant it.

"Apology?" Ichigo asked. "For what?"

"We didn't tell you the real reason we thought there was a connection between Licorice's appearance and the new enemy," Ryou explained. "We didn't want to make you worry about it… but I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. So now, here it is – the missing links." He glanced at Kishu when he said this, and Licorice couldn't help but suppress a smile.

"As we've told you," Ryou began, "only those with a certain genetic structure can become Mew Mews. People with this structure are very rare, and we were surprised when beginning the Mew Project at the number of people with this structure living in Tokyo," he paused. "We no longer see this as a coincidence, however…"

There was a moment of silence. No one yet saw what this had to do with Licorice.

"To find the people with this structure, we set up cameras and sensors to detect it. After Tokyo Mew Mew was complete, they were no longer needed, and we nearly forgot about them. They never reacted again… until this morning, when Licorice stumbled past one of them."

This time, the silence was from shock.

"I see," Zakuro said slowly. "You knew that Licorice was… special, and didn't take that combined with the fact she wondered out of nowhere with no memory of her past as a coincidence."

"Exactly," Ryou said. "And after seeing Mew Spice, I'm even more sure than ever. However they're doing it, and for whatever reason, this enemy is using Mew Mews to fight us. There is a chance that Licorice was targeted by them, and somehow escaped… whatever it is they do."

Ichigo looked over at Licorice. It was almost impossible to think that this girl may have come close to becoming her mortal enemy.

"But this means… Licorice could become one of us?" said Lettuce.

"That's exactly what it means," Ryou replied. "And that's what I'm offering her a chance to become."

"Offering her?" Ichigo demanded. "We didn't get a choice! Why is she different?"

Ryou ignored her, and turned to face Licorice. "We're going to need much more than we've already got to fight this new enemy, and if my suspicions are correct (and they almost always are), you may already be a target for them. You'll need to be protected. What do you say? Will you help us?"

At first, Licorice didn't know how to answer. She thought of the danger that would come, the pressure of having to save the world, and what might happen if she failed. But in her heart, she'd already decided.

"Yes."

"You're going to regret this," Minto warned her, but Licorice just smiled. It was already too late to change her mind.


	8. The End of a Very Long Day

**Licorice becomes a Mew Mew! Bet yah didn't see that coming XD**

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**Chapter Eight – The End of a Very Long Day**

It looked just like a regular medical needle – the kind doctors had been giving Licorice for years as vaccines for diseases she'd never even heard of. Only this time she was getting animal DNA.

"Hold still," Ryou instructed, grabbing Licorice's left leg, an action that made her feel more like pulling away.

A thought flashed into her head. "Er, this doesn't hurt, does it?" she asked nervously.

"Not at all," Ichigo said. "Well, at least, it didn't when it happened to me, and they were using a different method then…"

"How reassuring…" Licorice murmured.

The contents of the needle swirled with silvery liquid that gave off a faint glow. It was strange to think that this was how she was going to become a superhero – getting a shot. Not quite as cool as she'd imagined, but she supposed it'd have to do.

Licorice closed her eyes as the needle made contact with her inner left thigh –

To her relief, she felt no pain. But less than a moment later, she was engulfed in light. Opening her eyes, she saw a shadowy figure moving towards her, a large cat of some sort. Barely a metre away from her, it pounced.

The feeling of DNA infusion wasn't at all what Licorice had expected. She'd assumed that forcing DNA into a body it didn't belong would feel uncomfortable, but the experience proved her completely wrong. For a moment she felt whole, not that she never hadn't before, or if she hadn't she'd never noticed. It was strange, and difficult to explain. But the two pieces – her and the cat – fit together perfectly as if it had always meant to be this way.

The light cleared and Licorice looked down at herself. She was wearing a black two-piece outfit consisting of a short, strapped top and shorts, with a transparent piece of grey fabric joining the upper and lower halves. She had black crossed-stitched boots, long fingerless black gloves, and a band on her right leg. On the opposite leg, where the needle had made contact, was a mark – a heart-shaped mark with four swirly lines going outwards from it on the top, bottom and sides. Her hair had changed from curly brown to straight black. Licorice looked behind her and saw she had a long, white and black spotted cat tail with a black tip and a thin, grey ribbon tied around it.

"Nice," Minto commented.

"What DNA does she have?" Lettuce inquired.

"Panthera Uncia Uncia," Ryou replied without thinking.

"Cool, I'm a Snow Leopard!" Licorice exclaimed, twitching her tail experimentally.

"Her leg-band is on the same side as mine…" Ichigo thought out loud.

"So?" Minto asked.

Ichigo's eyes became more focussed as her gaze left Licorice and settled on Minto.

"Nothing," she said with a slight frown, and looked away.

There was obviously something else bothering her, but Licorice wasn't sure what it was.

"Where's she going to stay?" Lettuce asked.

"Ryou and I have rented an apartment until the café is rebuilt," Keiichiro said. "I was thinking Licorice could pose as Ryou's sister and live there with us, for now, anyway. Would you be okay with that, Licorice?"

"Grrr!"

"Licorice?"

"Huh? Oh…" Licorice said, coming out of her little fantasy world and looking embarrassed. "Sorry… How about you tell me how to turn back before I get distracted again?"

Keiichiro explained that you only had to think yourself back to normal, and in moments Licorice was de-Mewnatized.

After Keiichiro had confirmed that Licorice heard nothing he'd said earlier, and repeated everything over again, Ryou said, "And that concludes our meeting. You may leave."

"Wait, what about school?" Licorice asked.

"You'll be going to Ichigo's school," Ryou stated.

"Whah –?" Ichigo said incoherently. Licorice got the uneasy feeling that she wasn't exactly happy about this. Did Ichigo hate her?

"We'll discuss this later," said Ryou. "Now leave."

"Pudding's finished her chores so she and Taru-Taru can play now, na no da!" Pudding announced, grabbing Taruto's hand and dragging him out of the room as everyone else began to go. Taruto couldn't help it. He smiled.

"Lettuce?" The green-haired girl spun around at the sound of Pai's voice.

"Uh, yes?" Lettuce replied nervously.

"What was it that you were going to say earlier?" he asked.

"Oh…" Lettuce stiffened.

She was surprised he even remembered it, or thought it was important enough to say now. Either way, the confidence she'd had before was gone now, and she could no longer find the words to describe how she felt about him. Besides, she wasn't going to say it with everyone – especially Ryou – standing around.

"Um… nothing," she said quickly.

Pai stood for a moment, staring at Lettuce with a calculating expression on his face, but then he just nodded and left. Whatever he was thinking, he wasn't giving Lettuce a chance to figure it out.

"What about me?" Licorice said, suddenly remembering she didn't know where she was supposed to be going.

"You're coming with us," Ryou said, snatching her wrist and pulling her along as he and Keiichiro headed for the car.

"So, in other words, she failed," the man said, standing by the window, his face out of view. The dark curtain was partially open, and he held it in position with his right hand, never looking away.

"Yes," a girl with long black hair said carefully. "But she was close – Mew Zakuro was nearly eliminated."

"Nearly isn't good enough," he said. "That's Mew Spice's problem – she's an excellent assassin when there's only one target, but as soon as she's fighting all of them, she's easily distracted. Next time, make sure you send Mew Sugar with her."

There was a pause, and then the girl spoke.

"I … don't think Mew Sugar will be developed far enough at her current pace for our next planned assault. I think… I should go."


	9. The Fun of Being a KnowItAll

**This chapter is going into Licorice's personality a bit...**

**Review PLEASE! If you read, you review!**

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**Chapter Nine – The Fun of Being a Know-It-All**

"I didn't know Ryou Shirogane had a sister," Moe Yanagida said sceptically, standing by Licorice's desk the next day before ancient history class.

"Um…" Licorice said, trying to think of a good response to this.

Everything was happening so fast – first Keiichiro had woken her up that morning and told her she had to get ready for school, and now she had to pretend she was Ryou's sister. How was she supposed to pretend to be related to someone she'd known for barely a day? Who did they think she was? More importantly, who was she? What if someone recognised her?

"I didn't know you knew Ryou Shirogane," said Licorice, because it was the only safe thing she could think of saying at the time (only later would she think back on how odd it was to refer to her brother using his full name).

Moe looked hurt, but before she could say anything else, the teacher came into the room and Moe, Miwa and Ichigo ran to their seats. After everything had been sorted out and Licorice "Shirogane" had been briefly introduced to the class, Akiyama-sensei announced that over the next few weeks, they would be doing comparative mythology. Everyone would be split up into groups of three – "Which have already been chosen," he said as a number of people began discussing this – be given a different ancient mythology and asked a bunch of questions. The idea was to show the differences and similarities between the main early mythologies of the world.

Ichigo, Moe and Miwa had all been separated, but Ichigo ended up with Licorice and another girl named Yuna Maki. When their mythology was selected, Licorice let out a sigh of relief – Ancient Greek. This would be easy.

As Akiyama-sensei wrote the questions on the board, Licorice turned to Ichigo. "What's wrong with Moe-san?"

"Moe has a crush on Ryou – she's been head of his fan club for over a year now."

"Oh…" Licorice said, feeling a pressure on her chest she recognised as guilt. "Getting him to notice her must be hard."

Ichigo nodded. "Don't worry, though. Just don't bring it up again and she'll be quick to forgive you."

Licorice nodded with a sad smile.

"Hey, are you two going to work or not?" Yuna demanded. "I'm not doing this on my own."

Licorice looked at the board, and read the first instruction – "List five gods/goddesses of your mythology and write three facts about them."

"Okay, Ichigo, name a Greek god or goddess," Licorice said.

"Uh… okay," Ichigo said, wracking her brains. "Uh… Aphrodite? Wasn't she the goddess of love?"

"Is anyone going to write this down?" Yuna asked, and Licorice got out a pen and paper.

"Okay… Aphrodite," she read out as she wrote. "Facts: 1, goddess of love; 2, wife of Hephaestus, but in love with Ares; 3, was sometimes said to be the mother of Eros, AKA Cupid."

Ichigo looked mildly impressed. "You seem to know a lot about this. Maybe we should just leave it all to you."

"That would defeat the purpose of group exercise," Licorice said, twirling her hair thoughtfully with her pen. "How 'bout you name the god, and I write the facts?"

"Sure!" Ichigo said. "Hmm… what about…"

Licorice smiled. After the way Ichigo had reacted when she'd found out Licorice would be going to her school, this was better than she could have hoped for. Maybe they would be friends after all…

"Does anyone else think this is completely pointless?" Yuna asked.

"What do you mean?" Licorice demanded. Yuna's sudden question had quickly changed her mood.

"This is a history class," Yuna said, rolling her eyes. "Facts. Things that happened. So why are we being taught about some impossible explanation for why there's a moon?"

"I can't believe you're even asking that!" Licorice said aggressively. "Whether we think those things are true or not, the fact is that the Greeks did, and as such it would have affected every aspect of their day-to-day lives!"

Ichigo watched the debate going on between Licorice and Yuna with interest. Licorice was acting like a bit of a know-it-all, but at least she seemed to know what she was talking about, which was more than could be said for Yuna.

Suddenly, there was a flash outside, and everyone turned to the classroom window. Licorice's jaw dropped and she stared in shock. It looked as if everything outside had turned red. She could barely make out anything a few centimetres from the school fence. The fence on which, standing perfectly balanced and her fox ears twitching with anticipation, was a tall, slender girl of sixteen to seventeen years old. She wore big black boots, a high-necked black leotard and a red band on her left leg. Over the leotard she wore a short, baggy, sleeveless red shirt, and red bandage-like material was wrapped around her lower arms. Her short hair and cold eyes were fiery red. A thin red cord was tied around her neck, on which hung a single gold mew pendant.

Though she was far away, Mew Spice's gaze turned to the window of the classroom Licorice and Ichigo were in, and Licorice got the eerie feeling that the fox girl was looking right at her.

"We need to get out there now," Ichigo said, which proved not at all difficult, because the entire school – regardless of what the teachers said – was heading outside.

Ignoring Akiyama-sensei's instructions to sit down and remain calm, Ichigo and Licorice rushed out of the classroom door. The hall was crowded with people, all trying to get outside to see what was going on. The two of them ran out into the open air, then quickly turned the corner of the building. Licorice put her hand in her pocket and dug out the mew pendant Ryou had given her.

"Mew Mew Strawberry!"

"Mew Mew Licorice!"

"Metamorphosis!"

"Let's go," Mew Strawberry said, and the two of them jumped onto the roof of the school building.

Mew Licorice looked down nervously, and felt her stomach clench. They were so high up, it was scary…

"Hey you, how dare you attack this school!" Mew Strawberry said to Mew Spice, and everyone turned to look at them. Mew Licorice quickly stopped thinking about how high they were, and looked at Spice instead. "For the future of the Earth, we'll be of service, nya!"

"Look up there! It's Mew Strawberry!" Licorice heard someone say. "Who's the other one?" someone else asked. "I don't know, I've never seen her before…"

Though she knew it was stupid, Licorice felt a pang of jealousy. She swore to herself that someday, someone would look at her and call her "Mew Licorice" with the same admiration in their voice…

Licorice shouldn't have let herself get distracted, because less than a second later, she heard the words "Ribbon Spice Blaze!" and leapt out of the way just in time as the Spice Disc shot past her neck.

"Strawberry Bell!" Mew Strawberry cried. "Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!"

Rainbow light shot out of the pink-haired cat-girl's weapon. Meanwhile, Licorice caught sight of a boy a little younger than her, climbing up the fence…

Licorice suddenly realised that the reason she'd thought everything had gone red was because the school was surrounded by a large, transparent, red-tinted dome. The boy reached out to touch it, and then let out a cry of pain, jerking his hand away.

There was no way out.

They were all trapped.

"Licorice!" Mew Strawberry called desperately as she dodged another of Spice's attacks. "Fight her!"

"But…" It occurred to Licorice just then that she had no idea what her weapon was. Ryou had told her that weapons and attacks came instinctively, but Licorice felt nothing.

Closing her eyes, Mew Licorice concentrated on her will to save Ichigo, and, slowly, words came to her lips…

"Licorice Mirror!" Mew Licorice called out, a black gothic-style mirror appearing in her outstretched hand.

Mew Spice turned to her and, faster than Licorice could register, tossed the disc in her direction.


	10. The Cute vs The Sexy

**My updates have finally caught up with my writing...**

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**Chapter Ten – The Cute vs. The Sexy**

Something hit it midway, knocking it off target. Mew Licorice nearly fainted with feelings of overwhelming relief. Shaking slightly, she, Mew Spice, Strawberry, and practically everyone else turned to see where the object had come from –

– to see three teenage boys floating in the air.

"Taruto?" Licorice exclaimed, as she realised he was the one who'd just saved her life.

"Hello Licorice. How are you?" Taruto asked with a sarcastic smirk.

"Thanks," Licorice said, ignoring what he'd just said.

Apparently Mew Spice wasn't too pleased about her attempted murder on Mew Licorice being foiled by an eleven-year-old alien midget, because she sent the three Cyniclons a glare before lunging at Taruto's head. Pai, however, wasn't going to let her try anything of the sort, and Mew Spice was thrown back by a sudden powerful gust of wind.

Now that Mew Spice's attention had been distracted, other things Licorice had pushed out of her mind before started coming back. She had a sickening feeling as she imagined what might have happened if Taruto hadn't saved her, if he hadn't done anything, if he'd been too late, or if he simply hadn't been there at all…

"What are they doing here?" Mew Strawberry wondered aloud, and then noticed the expression on Licorice's face. "Licorice?"

"Bring me down, please," Licorice said, as she remembered her other problem. "I'm sorry… I don't like heights."

Mew Strawberry nodded, checked to see that Pai and Taruto were still engaging Mew Spice, and with her arms around her the two of them jumped down. The school yard was starting to clear up – people had probably moved inside to watch the fight from a safer viewpoint, now that they'd seen how serious things were.

_Maybe Minto was right…_ Mew Licorice thought, as she bent her head and started breathing slowly through her mouth. _You can't believe there's anything dangerous about being a superhero until it actually happens. Brilliant._

"Hi, ladies!" a familiar voice said, and Licorice looked up to see Kishu standing in front of them. "Licorice, are you okay? You look pale."

"Speak for yourself," Licorice replied, and despite everything a small smile appeared briefly on her face.

"How did you know…?" Mew Strawberry started to ask.

"Ryou was alerted that you'd transformed, and got us to see what was going on. Lucky we did, too," Kishu commented as Mew Spice took a swipe at Pai. "From what I saw, Licorice would be dead now if we hadn't."

Something about the way he made her sound weak and the casual way in which he said this irritated Licorice, and looking down to hide her expression, she clenched her fists. But Kishu wasn't looking at her anymore anyway.

"So now that we've got Spice under control, you two can help by destroying the force field," Kish continued.

"You call that under control?" Strawberry asked, gesturing to the fight going on behind them. No matter what Kishu said, the odds still seemed to be on the fox-girl's side.

"More under control than you had her," Kish pointed out, and Mew Strawberry managed to hold in whatever excellent comeback she'd thought up, letting him continue. "Pai said that the force field was most likely generated from inside the building – don't ask me how he figures that, but you should go looking for it."

"You're telling me that we have to walk through the entire school, searching every classroom for this… whatever it is that's got us stuck inside a dome?" Mew Strawberry demanded, obviously not too pleased at the idea.

"Well, Ryou did tell me to give you this…" Kishu said, opening his hand. Out popped a fluffy pink robot known to most as Masha. "You'll need him again, now. Take him quickly. He keeps complaining when he's around us."

"Alien! Alien!" Masha chirped, fluttering up and down into Mew Strawberry's outstretched hands.

"Yes Masha, I know, thank you."

"That's the robot used to detect kimera anima?" Mew Licorice asked in surprise.

"Yes," Mew Strawberry said. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, I guess I just didn't expect it to be so cute!" Licorice said as Mash nuzzled the palm of her hand.

"Welcome to the world of Tokyo Mew Mew," Kishu said. "If you're good, you're cute. If you're evil," he grinned, "you're sexy."

"Which one are you then?" Mew Licorice asked.

"Hmm, good question."

Mew Strawberry rolled her eyes, but Licorice laughed.

"KISHU, STOP FLIRTING WITH THE MEW MEWS AND GET OVER HERE NOW!" Taruto yelled, narrowly escaping death again for the third time in about five minutes. "THIS IS _NOT_ FUN!"

"I'm needed elsewhere," Kishu said. "'Bye!"

"But –"

He had already gone. Masha leading the way, Mew Licorice and Mew Strawberry hurried into the school building. Some of the classrooms they passed were full again, all of the students staring at the fight still going on outside the window. The variety of ages of the kids milling in the hall stopped Licorice from being concerned that anyone would notice they were gone. Now and again, a few people looked at them as they passed, but aside from that, no one seemed to notice them anymore.

"Ichigo," Licorice said, breaking the silence, "er, Mew Strawberry."

"Yes?" Mew Strawberry said, her eyes never leaving Masha.

"You argue with Kishu a lot, don't you?"

Mew Strawberry stopped in surprise. "I do?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, from what I've seen of you so far – I could be wrong…"

"No – I suppose you're right," Mew Strawberry said thoughtfully. "Strange, I never really thought about it that way… Masha, do you actually know where you're going?"

"Masha knows! Masha knows!" Masha chirped. "This way! This way!"

"Okay," Mew Strawberry said with a sigh – she wasn't entirely sure she believed him.

Finally, Masha stopped outside the closed door of the principal's office. "Kimera anima! Kimera anima!"

"In there?" Mew Strawberry asked.

"In there! In there!"

"So… who wants to go in first?" Licorice asked casually.

Mew Strawberry stepped forward, and slowly pushed the door open. What they saw next would have otherwise shocked them.

The unconscious bodies of about four people lay on the ground, but apart from this everything seemed relatively calm – there were no signs of a struggle. The enemy must have worked quickly.

Floating above the desk was what looked like a transparent bubble of light, crackling with energy – presumably the source of the force field's power. Slowly, Mew Strawberry and Mew Licorice walked into the room.

"Let's do this quickly," Mew Licorice said, thinking of Kishu, Pai and Taruto still fighting outside.

"Strawberry Bell!" Mew Strawberry cried, and aimed her weapon at the power source. "Ribbon – "

"Kimera Anima!" Masha said urgently.

The two mews spun around. A figure emerged from behind the door. She looked about sixteen years old. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and she had the ears and tail of a black wildcat. Her outfit looked like a black, two-piece version of Ichigo's. She had black bandage-like material wrapped around her arms and legs, and short, high-heeled boots. A long, black-metal scythe was grasped in her right hand.

"What?" she asked at the sight of their shocked faces. "You didn't think we were going to make it that easy for you, did you?"

And just like that, she attacked.


	11. Attack of the UBM

**Chapter Eleven – Attack of the UBM**

She was aiming for Mew Strawberry's head.

"Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!" Mew Strawberry yelled instinctively, a flash of rainbow light blasting from her pink heart-shaped weapon.

"Ribbon Blackberry Destruction!"

The black mew's response attack collided with Strawberry's, sending a wave of shock through the room.

--

_This is harder than I expected_, Kishu thought, as he deflected yet another of Mew Spice's attacks.

For all his perfection, Kishu had a few flaws. One of them was taking action before considering the consequences. Another was underestimating his enemies.

He had just done both.

Until now, most of the fighting the aliens had been doing was defensive. Kishu moved to offense, attacking Mew Spice from behind while she was briefly distracted by Taruto. But then the fox-mew had spun around, hitting him hard on the side of his jaw. Luckily, it was with her hand, not her weapon.

Pai would be giving him a lecture on self-preservation later on.

_Why are they taking so long_? Kishu wondered as he stumbled back in pain. _What's keeping them?_

--

In the office Mew Licorice stared desperately at the two-mew battle unfolding before her eyes. The black and silver light of Mew Blackberry's attack and the rainbow light of Mew Strawberry's had met halfway and were forcing each other back and forth, like they did in movies. Though Mew Strawberry seemed to be winning, Licorice still felt she should be doing something to help.

Holding her right hand in front of her, she called "Licorice Mirror," and the black mirror reappeared in her hand.

The black light of Mew Blackberry's attack surged with new energy, almost entirely overcoming the rainbow one.

"Ribbon – "

Mew Strawberry responded with another blast form her bell. The two lights teetered at the meeting point.

" – Licorice – "

The black light overcame the rainbow, and "Blackberry Destruction" raced towards Mew Strawberry.

" – Flash!"

Moonlight-silver light flashed off the surface of the mirror, hitting Mew Blackberry and knocking her attack off-course. Blackberry gave Licorice the look of a cat who'd just been denied the mouse she'd played with. Meanwhile, Mew Strawberry was wasting no time. She stood in front of the forcefield's power source, and held out her bell.

Mew Blackberry prepared to attack again, but Licorice yelled out "Licorice Flash!" once more. Blackberry knocked it aside carelessly, but the time she'd wasted doing this was all Strawberry needed.

"Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!"

The attack raced towards its target, and collided as another shockwave shook the room.

--

"She's gone?" Kishu asked no one in particular, letting the surprise sound in his voice.

"So it seems," Pai said. He didn't seem surprised. But then, he rarely said anything out of monotone.

Moments ago, the three of them had been battling a psychopathic fox-girl. Now not only had the force field disappeared, but Mew Spice was nowhere in sight.

"What a coward," Tarunto said, sitting cross-legged in the air.

"Oh, would you like her to come back?" Kishu asked the brown-haired cyniclon, smirking.

"That's not what I meant!" Taruto said defensively. "It just seems – "

"Illogical," Pai said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah."

"But it's not," Pai said. "I think I understand what this was all about."

"What?" Kishu and Taruto asked, feeling stupid because they still didn't see it.

"Mew Spice's only role was as a distraction," Pai explained. "Someone else was guarding the energy source. The whole purpose of this was to kill Mew Strawberry."

"How do you figure?" asked Kishu.

Pai pointed at a window, which suddenly shattered. Mew Strawberry and Licorice jumped to the ground outside, followed by a UBM – Unidentified Black Mew.

"No fair, you cheated," Taruto said accusingly as he went to help Strawberry and Licorice.

--

"Ribbon Blackberry Destruction!" Mew Blackberry cried, black lightening crackling from her scythe. Mew Strawberry leapt out of the way as Blackberry's attack hurtled past her, turning part of the school fence into a pile of ash.

Blackberry let out a feline growl. Their plan had been perfect! How could they fail? Going to Ichigo Momomiya's school, forcing her to transform into Mew Strawberry, then destroying her. What had gone wrong?

Out of the corner of her eye, Mew Blackberry caught sight of Strawberry's new ally, Licorice, preparing to attack with her mirror. With a single blast from Blackberry's scythe, Licorice's weapon was knocked from her grasp. It was her fault. Blackberry didn't know who this girl was, but she wasn't supposed to be there.

All the same, Mew Blackberry didn't understand it, but something about Mew Licorice's presence seemed to increase her power. Who was this girl? Blackberry lashed out cutting Mew Licorice's left forearm with her scythe. Licorice stumbled back, clutching her arm as blood began to pour from the wound. If she killed her now, the problem would be gone – the mistake would be out of the way forever.

And then, Blackberry felt a cold blade pressed against her throat.

"I'd stop there, if I were you," Kishu said from behind her, "or my hand might slip."

Blackberry glanced around, and saw she was surrounded.

"Sorry for being late," Mew Lettuce said apologetically.

"Is Licorice-oneechan okay, na no da?" Mew Pudding asked. Licorice managed a grimace in reply.

Recognising that she was outmanoeuvred, Mew Blackberry vanished. Kishu stumbled slightly, as the vacant space opened up in front of him, but quickly regained balance.

"How come our enemies can always teleport?" Minto said, but everyone ignored her.

"We'd better get Licorice back to Ryou and Keiichiro quick," Zakuro said, walking over to the black leopard-mew and extending her hand. "Here." Licorice, preoccupied by the events of the past half hour, took it without question.

Mew Strawberry, however, watched this with curiosity. Since when had Zakuro been this nice?

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**Zakuro's being nice? What's happening to this world?! XD**

**Review, people, please! It means a lot to me!**


	12. Chapter the Twelfth

***is emotional* I'd just like to thank all my readers/reviewers up to this point. If it wasn't for you, I probably would have stopped writing this fic ages ago.**

**So THANKS!**

**Anyway, I figured Masaya hadn't really done much in this story yet... and Masaya-bashers, please don't hate just because I'm giving him a chance.**

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**Chapter 12 – Chapter the Twelth**

"This may sting a bit," Keiichiro warned, holding a damp cloth that had been soaked in some funny-smelling liquid and gently grasping Licorice's arm.

He began cleaning the wound, and Licorice had to bite her tongue to stop herself crying out. Sting a bit? She was in agony!

They were sitting at the kitchen table of the four-room apartment. Zakuro stood silently in the corner, surveying the scene with her sharp, icy sapphire-blue eyes. She'd barely said anything since arriving, and had returned to her typical dark, cold persona.

The four rooms of the apartment consisted of Licorice's bedroom, and the room Ryou and Keiichiro shared, which was also where the computers and other mew-related equipment was hidden (with some help from the aliens). The other two rooms were, of course, the kitchen and bathroom.

"Are you okay now?" Zakuro asked.

Licorice nodded, not daring to open her mouth. She winced as Keiichiro continued wiping the gash on her arm.

"The cut's not as deep as I first feared," Keiichiro said. "It should heal within a few days."

"Then I'll leave now," Zakuro said, turning for the door.

"Be careful," Keiichiro warned. "And watch out for Mew Spice."

"Oh, I will." Zakuro glanced back and gave him a small smile. Then she was gone.

"So," Keiichiro, who was now wrapping Licorice's wounded arm in white fabric, said with a smile, "how was your first day at school?"

"You mean apart from nearly being killed?" Licorice asked. "Pretty good, I guess."

"That's nice. Did you get any homework?"

"No. I didn't stay around long enough for them to give me any."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Keiichiro opened it to see Ichigo, Masaya and Kisshu (whatever he was doing there).

"Because of the attack, school is now off for today," Ichigo explained at the sight of Keiichiro's confused expression.

"So we thought we'd drop by and see if Licorice was alright," Masaya finished, looking over and giving Licorice a smile. Licorice just hoped that the embarrassed blush she was feeling couldn't be seen on her face.

Keiichiro let them in, and in a split second Ichigo was at Licorice's side.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked anxiously.

"I'm fine," Licorice informed her leader. "It doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"Ichigo, Masaya," Ryou's voice came from the kitchen doorway. "I know this is a bad time, but just come. I need to talk to you two now."

Ichigo shot a glare at Ryou, and gave Licorice a quick goodbye smile as she and Masaya followed Ryou into the other room.

"Are you going to thank me?" came a voice from behind her. Licorice turned her head to see Kisshu standing there.

"Thank...you? For what?" Licorice asked, slightly confused.

"For saving your life!" Kisshu reminded her, taking a step closer.

"Oh – right," she said awkwardly. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Kisshu smirked, a gleam in his eyes that made Licorice wonder if he'd only been teasing her. Licorice looked down at the table.

"How's your arm?" he asked.

"Huh?" Licorice said, looking up in surprise.

"If you don't remember, you were attacked by a catgirl who cut a deep gash on your arm," Kisshu said with a grin. This time, Licorice knew he was teasing her.

"I know that!" Whether she knew he was teasing her or not, she wasn't in the mood. "I just..." She didn't want to say the truth, which was that she was surprised her cared at all. "Uh... it's okay."

"You don't sound too sure of yourself."

Licorice shrugged. "I don't know. I'm tired, hurt. confused, and I can't even remember my own surname. I've been nearly killed twice today, so far I suck at using my mew powers, and my ancient history teacher paired me and Ichigo with a bitch!"

"That... sucks," Kisshu said thoughtfully.

"Well observed," Licorice replied. Kisshu laughed, which made her feel a bit better.

Just then, Ichigo and Masaya walked back into the room, both seeming rather uncomfortable. Ichigo has an irritated frown on her face, and though Masaya didn't look particularly distressed, something about the way he walked made it clear he wasn't happy.

"What happened?" Licorice asked, wondering what Ryou had said to make them so pre-occupied.

Ichigo opened her mouth to reply, but then Keiichiro came in, saying, "Ichigo, why don't you and Masaya take Ichigo shopping?"

"Shopping?" Licorice asked, her voice full of surprise.

"Well, you don't think you can keep borrowing Ichigo's clothes forever, do you?" Ryou pointed out. Until now, Licorice hadn't even been aware he was listening.

"Oh... yeah," Licorice said, suddenly remembering the only things she currently owned were her uniform, bed and schoolbag, Even her socks and – gasp – underwear had been borrowed from Ichigo.

"It's not just for clothes, of course," Keiichiro continued. "With the left over money, you can buy yourself whatever you want."

"Left over money? How much are you giving her?" Ichigo asked.

"Quite a bit," Ryou said.

"So..." Licorice said slowly, making a mental list of all the books and anime DVDs she wanted to buy (not that she could afford them all...), "if I wanted to, I could get the third Sailor Moon season?"

"Of course."

"Let's go shopping!" Licorice said, jumping up enthusiastically.

--

"How about this one?" Ichigo asked, handing Licorice a shirt.

"Pink isn't really my thing," Licorice said, holding it out in front of her as if to get a better look. "Do they have it in blue or black?"

"Uhm... no, they don't," Ichigo replied, searching through the tops.

"Green?" Licorice asked hopefully. "Purple?"

"Sorry," Ichigo said. "Well, actually, they do have purple, but it isn't a very nice shade." Ichigo pulled one out for Licorice to see.

"Yeah," Licorice giggled. "Let's just go with what we've got."

"If you say so," Ichigo said, handing the hangers hung with tee-shirts, skirts and jeans over to Licorice. "I'll go find the change room."

Ichigo skipped off, leaving Licorice alone with Masaya.

"They come in white, you know," Masaya pointed out, gesturing to the shirts Ichigo had been showing her earlier.

Licorice shrugged. "I've got enough shirts as it is. And besides," she grinned, "I was serious when I asked about the Sailor Moon DVDs."

Masaya gave her a slight smile. There was a moment of silence.

"How do you like being a Mew Mew?" Masaya asked.

Licorice's expression darkened. "I don't know, I guess..." she kicked at the carpeted shop floor with her new blue and white running-shoes. "I suck at it," she concluded.

"You think so?" Masaya asked. "Why's that? I thought you were pretty good."

"You were watching me?" Licorice exclaimed, suddenly realising that all that time she had been nearly getting killed and looking like an idiot, there had been a school full of people watching her. "Wait, of course you were..."

"What's wrong?"

Licorice sighed. "It's like, I don't know, like my powers aren't working right. Or maybe it's just me. Half the battle I was just standing there with a dazed expression on my face." She frowned. "I had to be saved. Twice. By _boys_ – wait, that came out wrong..."

Masaya laughed. "You do know that the Mew Mews were originally created to destroy kimera animas, not fight each other. I'm not surprised your instinct isn't reacting immediately to the situation."

"But Ichigo – "

"Has been doing this for over a year," Masaya finished. "She's had much more experience."

"I guess..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do much better next time," Masaya gave Licorice a reassuring smile. Licorice gave him a small smile in return.

"Hey! The change rooms in the back," Ichigo said, and Licorice spun around at the sound of her voice. "C'mon!"

Her spirits lifted, Licorice, followed by Masaya, was led by Ichigo through the crowded clothing store.

--

Later that day, Ryou called the team to another meeting in his and Keiichiro's room in the apartment. Licorice, a little annoyed at being pulled away from her favourite Sailor Moon season, stood in quiet surprise as the blond sixteen-year-old informed them that the cyniclons would be attending the Mew Mews' schools.

"Wait, what?" Kisshu, who obviously hadn't heard about this until now, exclaimed. "How are we going to do that?"

"Like this," Pai said, pulling out something that resembled a watch. Before Kisshu could resist, he strapped it on the cyniclon boy's wrist. "Press these buttons here..."

Kisshu followed Pai's instructions, and was bathed in green light. When the light cleared, there was something different about him. He looked a couple years younger, and –

"I'm HUMAN!" Whether or not it was intentional, there was a trace of disgust in his voice.

"And thirteen years old," Pai added. "Now you can go undercover to Ichigo, Licorice and Masaya's school to assist them in the event that they are ever attacked again."

Now Licorice knew what Ryou had told Ichigo and Masaya earlier.

"Taruto will attend Pudding's school, and I will go to Lettuce's," Pai continued. Lettuce tilted her head to hide a blush. Ryou frowned.

"That's great Pai, now can you tell me how to turn back before my pants fall down?" Kisshu asked.

"That reminds me," said Pai. "We still need to purchase uniforms.."

"Pai, I was serious!" Kisshu said, pulling his pants back up.

Licorice couldn't hold it back anymore. She laughed.


	13. Paper Flowers

**"In my field of paper flowers,**

**And candy clouds of lullaby,**

**I lie inside myself for hours,**

**And watch my purple sky fly over me."**

**- "Imaginary" lyrics by Evanescence**

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**This chapter is all a dream, and took place entirely within Licorice's head...**

**... more or less.**

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Chapter 13 - Paper Flowers **

"Licorice? Licorice, wake up!" a friendly, cheerful voice giggled overhead.

Licorice forced her eyes open, and was nearly blinded by the rays of the sun. As the world around her came into view, Licorice realised she was laying on her back in the middle of a bright, grassy field. Wildflowers brushed the side of her face, and leaning over her was a young girl. Her brown hair fell down just past her shoulders, and her eyes were the colour of emeralds.

"You're awake now," the girl said, giving Licorice a beautiful smile. Licorice felt a pang of jealousy. Why was it all the of the beautiful people had to rub it in her face? Realising what she was thinking, she quickly pushed the thought from her mind.

"Who are you?" Licorice asked the girl.

"You don't know me, but I know you," the girl said, seeming to enjoy getting on Licorice's nerves. "My name is Terra."

"Terra…?" Licorice repeated.

"Yes. Now come with me," Terra said, standing up. "There's something I must show you."

Clumsily, Licorice got to her feet, and followed Terra to the edge of the field, where a gate cut this sanctuary off from the rest of the world. Beyond the gate, everything was grey – a world made of concrete and steal. There were few cars, but the heavy scent of exhaust hung like a fog in the still air. Everything seemed dead. It almost made Licorice want to cry.

But over here…

The air was fresh. The grass was green. The sun shone. It was beautiful, relaxing.

"Tell me, Licorice," Terra said, "do you know where we are?"

Licorice looked at Terra and realised that she looked no more than ten. But her voice – her voice was much older. Wiser, almost ancient-sounding…

"No," Licorice admitted.

Terra's smile faded. She looked sad, and sighed. "You used to know this place," Terra said. "You used to love this place, Licorice. You'd lie for hours in the tall grass, play hide and seek with your brother, and search for fairies in the bushes." Terra smiled again. "It was cute the way you used to believe in that stuff."

Licorice felt her face go red. Sounded like something she'd do.

"What do you want to show me?" Licorice asked at last.

"What you seek," Terra replied.

The two of them stood now, facing each other, in the centre of the field, with about two meters separating them. Terra brought her arms forward, so her palms were facing Licorice. In the area between them, something began to glimmer and shine. As Licorice watched, a glowing orb of silver light appeared before her.

Everything faded away – the field, the sunlight, Terra. It was just Licorice and the tiny orb of light. Licorice wasn't sure what it was, but had the strange feeling it was the answer to everything. All her problems would be solved if she could only touch it. Licorice reached out her hand…

Something slashed between her outstretched hand and the glowing object, just a milimetres from her fingers. Licorice turned and looked into the stony-cold, onyx-black eyes of Mew Blackberry, her scythe glinting evilly in the darkness.

**End of Vol. 1 (of 5)**

**VOLUME 2 COMING SOON!**

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**Okay, so the title had absolutely nothing to do with the chapter...**

**Licorice now has a Mew Mew Power name (for those who care)! It's Rachel!**


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